A Christmas to Remember
by Half Demon Kagome Higurashi
Summary: Inuyasha and company come to the modern era for Christmas, and Christmas gains yet another memory to its credit.


Disclaimer: The cast of this short story are not my characters, they are the licensed property of Rumiko Takahashi, and no infringement of copyrights us meant here, it is just for fun, so please don't sue. -; Also, I'm not an expert on Japan and its customs and culture, so if this isn't entirely accurate, I ask that you not lynch me please.  
  
Author's note/warning: This story is set after Inuyasha and Kagome, as well as Miroku and Sango have confessed their love, though I'm sure you can figure that out. But if you're not an Inu/Kag and Miro/San shipper, don't read this. Oh, and at this point, Inu and Kag can take people to and from the past and present, and again, I'm sure you can figure that out by reading this story.  
  
A Christmas to Remember  
  
It was only a couple days till Christmas of 2000, and I, eighteen year old Kagome Higurashi, had only just finished wrapping the presents that I had spent the whole day buying to finish off my holiday shopping. Once that was done, I sat there, brightly colored boxes spread out on the floor around me, fretting about what might happen on Christmas Eve. I wasn't worried about all the Y2K talk, no; Christmas Eve was the day when I was to bring my friends from the feudal era of Japan to modern day Japan to spend the holidays with my family and me. Even Christmas day had me worried, because, you see, with my friends, I had just come to expect one disaster or another to happen. With a sigh of resignation, I gathered up the presents and put them away for the moment, thinking to myself, well, I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens, but for now I have to get some sleep if I'm going to be picking up the others from the past tomorrow.  
Early the next morning, now more exited than worried, I rushed to get dressed, and ran downstairs, grabbing a bagel for a quick breakfast, then sped out the door to the mini-shrine that housed the well that I used to travel between times, with no more than a, "See you later mom!" With that, I quickly hopped down the well before my mom could call to me to wait a second.  
The sight that greeted me was nothing uncommon for me, and at that moment it was more exasperating than usual, I guess because they were so not in the Christmas spirit. Sango was fuming, Miroku had her slap print on his cheek, and Inuyasha had Shippo by the tail, ready to punch him. "Inuyasha, sit." I said with a sigh of exasperation with him, hearing the usual whistle that went with the glow of the prayer beads around his neck as they set to bringing him crashing to the ground with the customary, "Gah!" ...And then the sound of him hitting the ground, and, "Damn it! What the hell was that for?!" ...But then, I rarely dignify that question with a response. "Get up Inuyasha, come on guys, let's go." With that, I took Sango's hand and Shippo in one arm and jumped back down the well. With my arms folded, I waited with Sango and Shippo on the other side for Inuyasha and Miroku to come through. After those two were ready, I turned and led the way to the house, "Mom, I got them!"  
Stepping out of the house, all smiles, mom waved to them in the friendly way she always did, "Oh, hello dears, do come in, we've been expecting you."  
With a brief nod and smile granted to my mom, I turned my attention away from her and to Sango, "Hey Sango, could you please help mom with the food? It would be appreciated." ...And one less person to worry about keeping an eye on.  
Having no qualms about cooking, Sango nodded, and willingly set off after my mother and into the kitchen.  
That dealt with, I turned to the boys, "Now, what am I going to do with you three?" After a few moments of thought on that, an idea hit me, "Oh I know, you guys can help me put the finishing touches on decorating the house!"  
However, Inuyasha's view on the matter was less than enthusiastic, and he responded with an equally unenthusiastic voice, "Oh joy..."  
My spirits rising again, I simply ignored him and ran off to get the needed things. Retuning with a box full of decorations, I took out a Christmas CD and popped it into the stereo, humming as I handed each of them one thing or another. Much to my delight, things actually went smoothly, and soon even Inuyasha seemed to be getting into it somewhat, letting Shippo stand on his shoulders to reach areas too high up, and chatting in friendly tones with Miroku.  
From his vantage point on Inuyasha's shoulder, Shippo stopped what he was doing, to listen to the two men while gazing out the window. After a few minutes, he lit up with the excitement of the child he was, "Hey! Kagome look, it's snowing!"  
With a chuckle on my part, I nodded to him, "Yes Shippo, I know. It's pretty, isn't it?"  
Still gazing out the window, he nodded, "Uh huh, I love the snow. Can I go out and play?"  
"Sure, just wait a second." I then went off and found my brother's old snowsuit, but frowned upon my return, how am I going to get his tail to fit in this? Remembering the scissors still in my room from present wrapping, I kicked myself for not immediately seeing the simple solution. I ran upstairs and grabbed them. Coming back down, I went back to where I had left the snowsuit and cut along the seam in the back to make a hole just large enough, and then helped Shippo get the snowsuit on and his tail through the hole. I then let him outside to play, smiling as I watched him for a moment.  
When all the decorations had been placed, and Shippo had come back in, mom and Sango came out of the Kitchen with the lunch they had made for us. After a great deal of fuss and chatter, we all settled down to silently grit our teeth and bear Sango's experiment in modern cooking. Revved about this new kind of cooking experience, regardless of our reactions, Sango asked, "There are more people coming over, right? So I was thinking--"  
Mom was too fast for her though, and cut her off politely, "Yes, people will start coming tomorrow, but I'm sorry dear, it's tradition for me to make Christmas dinner, and besides, I've already started."  
Looking a bit disappointed nonetheless, Sango, ever determined, still had to ask, "Can I at least help you?"  
My mom is no dummy though, and with her words making no guarantees, she answered simply, "We'll see, Sango dear."  
After lunch, my grandpa set up a fire in the fireplace for us to come back to seeing as mom sent all five of us out to shovel and sand the areas that needed it. In my opinion, it wasn't as bad as when it had to be done alone, and once it became a game of throwing sand and snow around, everyone seemed quite fine with it. Still, coming in later, night beginning to fall, it was a blessing to have a blazing fire to gaze at. Plus, to top it off, mom had made us all hot chocolate to drink while we warmed ourselves by the fire and listened to the ever present Christmas music.  
A few hours later, mom set to rounding us up for Christmas Eve dinner, of which, thankfully, Sango had not tried to help with, having been in some deep discussion about who knows what, with Miroku. Dinner was pleasant and all, Miroku and Sango seemed quite happy with each other of course, and neither of them was drunk, so it was genuine, but there was something that I was feeling that I couldn't put my finger on. So, I excused myself and went upstairs to my room to ponder it. What's wrong with me? Everything is so peaceful and beautiful and nice.... So then, why do I feel like this? What is it I'm feeling anyway? With all this running through my head, I hadn't noticed that Inuyasha, concerned about me, had followed me.  
"Kagome...?"  
His voice was quiet, but still, it startled me out of my thoughts, and I gave a slight yelp. My heart jumped, and kept my eyes away from him, acknowledging that I now knew he was there, in my own way, "I-Inuyasha...?"  
Again he addressed me, expecting an answer this time, "Kagome... what's wrong?"  
How could I answer that? I didn't even know, and so I told him that much, "I don't know..." Sad Christmas music was playing on the radio in my room, and it wasn't helping matters, making my heart hurt, but for some reason, I didn't want to turn it off.  
With a concerned frown, he sat down on the bed beside me and put his arm around me, "Kagome, you know you can tell me anything."  
Somehow, his closeness made me feel a bit better. Why shouldn't it though? He was the man I loved, so it only made sense. He knew that, and I knew that. So why was I feeling like this then? "I know... Inuyasha, it's just... well for one thing, I feel better when we're like this, but I don't know why I was feeling so odd in the first place."  
"Well, I'm glad I can make you feel better at least, but as for what you're feeling... well you know feelings are kind of hard for me to talk about... but I want to be able to protect you, and this kind of thing goes with that I guess."  
"Again, I know that, and I appreciate it more than you could know, but what I really want, is to know why I feel this way. I think, since we both don't know the answer to this one though, for now we'll just have to let time tell."  
"Alright, but remember..."  
"Yes, I know, thank you." With that, we went back downstairs to everyone having desert, and I must say, the looks we got were quite suggestive, and I could even feel my cheeks turning red, "Why are you looking at us like that?! We didn't do anything!" At that there were a few chuckles, and some expressions clearly said 'yeah right,' and still embarrassed by the looks, when we had in fact done nothing, I reclaimed my seat at the table beside Inuyasha, but refused to make eye contact with anyone.  
With the atmosphere as it was, desert was silent, aside from the quiet strains of White Christmas drifting at us from the stereo. It was Miroku who broke the uncomfortable silence, "Lady Kagome, would you please explain this Santa Claws concept?" "Oh... uh, S-Santa Claws... right... um, well, 'Santa' is Saint Nicolas, basically, he dresses in big red clothes, and has white hair, and on the night of Christmas Eve, he brings toys and things to all the good girls and boys." I felt the smile sneak up on me as I told the story, and I was grateful to Miroku for asking that question, knowing the story teller in me, and bringing up a way to ease the mood. I guess the 'big red clothes and white hair' got Shippo's attention, because he quickly interrupted with his characteristic enthusiasm, "That means Inuyasha is Santa Claws!" Everyone laughed at that, except, of course, Inuyasha. "I am NOT Santa Claws!" We all only laughed harder at that, evoking a glare from Inuyasha, and a confused but doubtful look from Shippo. Later, it was time for us all to get the final things done and go to bed. Miroku and Sango went off to the guest room with Shippo in tow. And with him occupied, I set my stash of gifts under the tree. But something was nagging at the back of my mind, Something's... not right... missing? Oh! Inuyasha! Where's Inuyasha?! I immediately set off to find him, hoping with all my heart that nothing had happened to him somehow. "Inuyasha! Where are you?!" I searched the house, inside and out, franticly, and I asked everyone if they knew where he was, or if they could tell me ANYTHING. But nobody was able to offer me any useful answers, and he was nowhere to be found. Worried and confused, I paced my room, what is going on here? Where is he? Why am I the only one worried? Is he alright? I had to do something! But what?! I was completely at a loss. I paced back and forth in my room trying to figure things out. Weary from worried pacing, I sat on my bed, how could he just disappear? And why? I refused to sleep, and I wouldn't let myself until I knew what was going on. Worried about the stress I was putting on myself, my mother came in and sat beside me and talked to me, trying her best to calm me, and I will admit, some of her words were comforting, and did help a bit, but I still wanted to see Inuyasha. My body, not agreeing with my desire not to sleep, took over, and sitting on my bed, I tipped over and fell asleep. Morning came, and I woke to warm lips on my cheek, my eyes snapped open and I sat up so quickly that I banged my jaw bone on his chin, but neither of us cared about that, "Inuyasha! Thank the gods you're alright!" Throwing my arms around him, I could feel that my reaction had not gone according to his plan, "Kagome, what are you talking about? What's wrong?" "Inuyasha, you were gone, and you didn't tell anybody, and... oh, I thought something might have happened to you... Inuyasha..." "Gods Kagome, I only wanted to surprise you..." At that, he pulled out a beautiful old bamboo box with an intricate seal of gold and red. "This was my mother's, she left it to me, I wanted you to have it." Thinking it was just the beautiful box that he was talking about; I looked over all its stunning intricacies, "Oh Inuyasha, it's beautiful." "Well, what are you waiting for? Open it Kagome." His smirk told me I was missing something important. I looked over the box in confusion, "It's such a pretty seal, I don't want to break it." "You won't, lift it." I did as he told me to, and seeing what was inside, I let out a slight gasp as my eyes widened. Inside the box lay four kimonos of the finest silks, worn only by the highest royalty, one of red with gold weave along the edges, one of a pale blue with darker blue lotus blossoms, one of a dark green with silver leaves woven on it, and one of white with opalescent raindrop-like glass beads over the bodice. "Inuyasha..." "My mother was a princess, remember? These were a gift to her from my father, but she never got a chance to ware them before she died." I saw his frown, and the sympathy in my expression was clear, but he went on, "The seal is my father's crest... As my father gave these to my mother, I want you to have them. That's why I left; I went to get these, one of the few things my parents left me before they died..." "Oh Inuyasha..." Calm now, but in awe, I wrapped him in a tight hug, which of course he returned, and let my chin rest on his shoulder, "...I don't know what to say, but, thank you so so SO much, I have never in my life felt so honored." He gave me a squeeze and a smirk as he leaned back from me, and holding my shoulders in his hands, his smirk melted into one of his rare warm smiles, "You're worth that and so much more... I don't know if there is a way to express how I love you..." That, I must admit, made me blush, and as an instinct, I looked down at my feet, but he took my chin in his hand and kissed me, and there was no way I would ever fight that, so, not only did I go with it, but obviously to his pleasure, I returned it. Though this all felt so wonderful, but I knew I had to put a temporary stop to it. I regretted ending it, even if it was only 'for now,' but I also knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to get caught up in the heat of the moment and end up taking a risk we weren't ready for. So, I mustered the will to pause it, "Inuyasha, before mom comes in worried about me, we had better go down there with the rest of them." "Yes, I agree..." I knew that he knew what I meant behind my words, those three words alone told me, they also, by the way he said them, told me he felt the same. I was thankful for that, and I gave him a smile as I put the box on a shelf in my closet. Cooling the color from our cheeks with our hands, we decided we were ready to head down, and with a wink to him, I told him that I had plans for those kimonos. Once down stairs, Inuyasha was greeted with "Oh there you are." Then they looked closer at us, and got the same look as they had at desert the night before, but this time we didn't say anything, we simply went about dealing with the gifts under the tree, all happy with the rest of them, and thankfully, it blew over with them. By late afternoon, guests started to trickle in, and our group's random merriment turned back to the business of party preparations. Despite that though, there was something on my mind, every year we would clear the dining room of furniture after desert, and we would turn it into a dance floor for the night, and hold a Christmas party dance. Now that I had Inuyasha with me... well, I would just have to wait and see... and so would he. Dinner and desert were uneventful, Miroku and Sango gave each other looks from across the table, and Inuyasha sat VERY close to me, but other than that, nothing happened. It was time to set things up for the dance, Miroku and Inuyasha willingly helped move things around, while my cousin Neal set up his DJ equipment, and I ran off upstairs to my room. Taking out the red and gold Kimono, I got changed and did my hair in a traditional Japanese fashion, and waited. When I heard Neal say, "Alright, clear the dance floor for a light show prior to the dance!" I knew that was my cue, and so I walked down the stairs, and when Neal's lights fell on me... oh the reactions. It felt like the whole holiday was mine. Best of all though, was the expression of true happiness on Inuyasha's face. This was OUR moment; Neal kept the spotlight on me as Inuyasha walked up and took my hand. The floor and the spotlight were all ours as the slow Christmas love song started to play. It felt like the world revolved around us for just that one dance. When it was over, the way he looked at me, I knew that this was only a beginning. Now, I have always loved Christmas, the warmth of the love given and received by family and friends, but some moments stand out above all the rest, I know that this will be a Christmas that I will never forget. I hope you all enjoyed my story, and may you be granted such memories throughout your lives as well. Good bye for now everyone. 


End file.
